The hooks are in and the foundation is laid. I kind of hate to see this end but the story is predictable. I would have liked to see a little more meat and potatoes to this story but that is the beauty of the short story. It leaves you wanting more and leaves you thinking about more. Good marketing. The writing is solid as is to be expected from Saul. I can imagine these characters sitting around in his head and driving him bat nuts crazy. Seems like he had a ton of fun writing them and maybe exorcised a few demons in the process. ( )

Reread.

The final "gift" has been delivered to Harvey Connally, the uncle of Oliver Metcalf, but Harvey is certain the gift was actually meant for his nephew. When Oliver sees the shaving box with a blood-stained straight razor inside, all of the repressed memories came flooding back.

Oliver's father was a monster who had visited his rage upon the patients of the asylum and worse, his own son Oliver. And through Oliver's childhood, Malcolm had been grooming his son to be the instrument of his revenge. From the beginning of the renovation project, Oliver had been having blackouts and performing tasks (without his conscious knowledge) that his father had implanted into his memory years prior.

Between the death of his uncle and finding himself standing above Rebecca holding the straight razor, Oliver finally snaps out of the trance he's been in and realizes what has been going on in Blackstone all along. Now that he's remembered his past, he's been freed of his father's influence and the "curse" is lifted from the town.

This series was great. I love serial novellas and wish they would make a comeback. There was always just enough thrill and suspense in each novella to keep you eager for the next one. The stories were so well written that I was never truly sure who the dark figure was. Not until right before the reveal. I adore John Saul novels and am glad I decided to reread this series. ( )

I have to admit I was surprised at the ending a little and the revelation - it was a fitting finale to the serialized story. By the time the 6th book was being read, I was done with the series and eager for it to be done. Not a bad series but a little choppy. The stories were interesting in some ways, too cheap in others. ( )